


Fluff and Stuff

by Mrprofplum



Category: The Thick of It (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Not me getting emotional over stuffed animals, Stuffed Toys, literal fluff, they’re in between friendship and relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29053110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrprofplum/pseuds/Mrprofplum
Summary: An old, loved toy can tell stories
Relationships: Nicola Murray/Malcolm Tucker
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	Fluff and Stuff

Malcolm’s been inside Nicola’s house, but never in her room. He had been following her around the house and bothering her for fun, but now that he’s in her room, he looks around. He goes over to the window next to her bed, when he steps on something.

Below his shoe, a worn out looking brown teddy bear, stares back at him. One buttoned eye is loose and one of it’s arms looks deflated compared to the other. He picks it up as soon as Nicola comes back.

“Oh, Benny!” Her voice is scolding and she takes the bear from Malcolm, holding it under its’ arms.

“This is Benny,” she explains, “He was Katie’s favorite when she was younger. He lives here in my room now, ever since Katie thought it was lame to sleep with a stuffed animal. But he still loves her, and watches Katie off to school. And he won’t sit still!” The bear’s head lolls back. She tuts and places a hand behind its head to hold up.

Malcolm half smiles at her silliness. “The sad thing looks a bit rough” He thought that was that, but Nicola is still holding the thing up with a loving smile.

“That’s how you can tell how much they were loved. Do see how Benny’s left arm basically doesn’t have any fluff? Katie carried him everywhere by holding onto his hand. The fluff migrated into the rest of his body from being dragged along like that” Nicola’s face was whimsical as she stroke the bear’s head, “that’s why his bottom and feet have no fur, from all the dragging. Oh, and-“ she moved by Malcolm, shoulder to shoulder, “- his muzzle is squished in” she laughs. “It used to be out more, but it’s squished into his face because Katie’s kisses”.

This is the first time he has seen a glimpse of a sentimental mother in Nicola. She loves her kids, and she’ll talk about them, but it was kind of like talking about the weather. The way she sighs happily right now, reminiscing, and absentmindedly caresses the bear’s ear, makes Malcolm stop everything and just let her have a moment.

He’s never thought about having kids, his work never allowed him a moment to think on anything else, and he hasn’t felt regretful. His sister’s kids fulfill that desire when they visit, and even that had been exhausting. But, looking at Nicola, he feels like he’s missed out.

“Oh! And over here-“ Nicola pushes the stuffed bear into Malcolm’s chest. She reaches behind a pillow pulls out a stuffed tiger, “-Is Kitty! She was Ella’s favorite.”

It looks like ‘Kitty’ had survived a lot of loving compared to the bear. It seemed to be in alright shape, besides it’s nose.

Nicola strokes her fingers through the fluff on it’s chest, “Ella liked to drag her around by the tail. It wore out after a while and it fell off. Ella was so upset and wouldn’t stop crying because she hurt her best friend” her voice wavered a bit as she remembered poor Ella and her guilt. Nicola didn’t know what to do! She tried to explain that the tiger wasn’t real and couldn’t feel anything, but it was so real to her. “And, well, it was the first time I sewn something on besides a button” she flipped the tiger over to show a very visible seam, with some excess thread hanging down. 

The emotions in her voice as she retells these toys’ past is the most passionate he’s ever heard her. She’s breathtaking like this. He finds that he could listen to her explaining her children’s stuffed animals and the abuse they’ve endured for hours.

“Why isn’t he on the windowsill watching Ella off?” Malcolm encourages.

“Tigers like caves, so she needs to be somewhere dark” Nicola recited, and Malcolm could imagine perfectly a little Ella explaining to her mum. 

With nothing else to say, Malcolm looks down at bear and finds himself flicking his thumb back and forth on his ear, like Nicola had done. It’s soothing. 

A thought sneaks its way to his mind. He would never mention this at any other time, but the atmosphere is so heavy with love, it feels safe right now. He could shallow his pride, for an old friend.

Malcolm clears his throat, “My little niece has a stuffed rabbit that could use some mending”

His heart beats fast and he feels uncomfortably warm. This is stupid.

Nicola waits for him to finish. After a moment, she’s about to ask him if he wants to bring it the next time he’s over, but he pushes ahead.

“It’s in my car”

“Your niece’s stuffed rabbit is in your car?” 

The slight amusement in her voice bristles him for some reason. His thumb runs harder at the ear, like he’s trying to grind it to dust. Nicola’s hand stops Malcolm’s, but he stares and the droopy buttons. 

“I’d be happy to look at it, if you want to get it now”

Now outside and out of the whatever that was, he feels ridiculous. What the hell happened in there? They were talking about toys and it made him feel...different, uncomfortable a bit. It made no sense. He felt little and unsure, and Nicola saw all of that. Is he really going to go back in there after making a fool of himself? 

He braces his hands on the boot of his car and blew out a big breath. Why does this feel like a big decision?

The boot snaps open and he clears away to reveal a raggedy looking rabbit. 

“Hey there” he mutters thickly. With a shaking hand, he snatches the rabbit before he does anything else stupid.

The floor creaks as he makes his way back into the house and he winces. Nicola will know he’s back, and that strange emotional tide will be back. He’s dreading it. He stands still, feeling a bit lost, but Nicola pokes her head out from the kitchen and trills a greeting and pops back in. He strides towards her, ignoring the rabbit in his hand and the uneasy feeling.

“Here he is” he mutters, looking anywhere else but Nicola. 

The rabbit dangles from Malcolm’s hand. There’s no filling in the middle area, making it look like a rag, but the arms, legs, and bottom are plump. The material is different shades of an off white and the fur is all matted. It’s missing an ear and both eyes, and one of the arms is ripped and hanging on by a prayer. Despite its flaws, Nicola gasps happily at it.

“Oh, hello! Look at you!” Nicola coos. 

As if handling an infant, she gently takes the rabbit from Malcolm, one hand supporting it’s heavy head, and the other holding the bottom. She’s so careful, like it could break any further. In a way, it feels like that Malcolm had handed her his heart.

“I can tell,” she begins in a soft voice, “that your niece likes to hug him a lot. She probably has him draped over her arm, like a blanket.” 

Malcolm shifts from one foot to the other, and tears his eyes from her floor to her. One look at her face, and he knows that she knows. She’s seeing the little boy that loves this rabbit and the grown man in front of her. A great rush of air escapes him at being seen so raw, so vulnerable. His eyes prickle. 

Without taking her eyes off him, she carefully rests the rabbit’s head on her shoulder and drape it’s arms around her neck for a hug. She begins to rock herself side to side. “Do you want to stay and watch?”

Clearing his throat doesn’t get rid of the lump lodged in there. He stares at the rabbit being cradled and feels like he’s in its place. He’s completely in her hands. He can’t speak, just nods once. 

Hand in hand, Nicola takes Malcolm to the sofa and makes him sit. He plops down and follows her movement with his eyes until he can’t see her. The rabbit needs to be washed first before she does any work. 

He rests his elbows on his knees and vigorously run his heads through his hair. He feels like he might cry for the first time in years, and he’s aggravated at himself.

When Nicola comes back, he feels on edge, waiting for something. She doesn’t say anything about what happened though, or make him come clean about the rabbit. She turns on the TV, places her feet on his lap, and idly scrolls through her phone. The white noise and familiar placement relaxes him. Nicola is safe. This is a sentimental woman who doesn’t feel silly that she’s attached to those stuffed animals. They carry memories of innocent life. And he does plan on giving the rabbit to his niece to make more memories. 

He places his hands on her feet and sinks into the couch. He feels exhausted.

A buzzer jolts him awake. He didn’t realize he had closed his eyes. He groans and leans his head back again. Nicola had curled herself against him and draped a blanket on them. She gets up to retrieve the rabbit from the dryer.

The coffee table is cleared as it turns into her surgery room. There’s fabric, thread, and fluff everywhere. She rolls up the sleeve of her oversized jumper, pulls her hair into a ponytail, and puts on a pair of glasses. While she usually looks lovely, Malcolm’s favorite look is a relaxed and comfortable Nicola. He leans forward to watch her work.

The original bean bag and fluff are reentered, followed by more white fluff from a bag, and the rabbit is sewn back up. It looks full enough to cuddle or to pillow a head. She addresses the missing ear by tracing the attached ear on fabric and cutting out some pieces. A little bit of fluff is put in and the fabric is sewn together, then attached on the head. She sews on two buttons for eyes. Then, with a prickly brush, she brushes the fur out.

“There we are” she mutters to the rabbit and looks it over again. Satisfied, she gives it a kiss on the forehead and turns back to Malcolm.

He takes the rabbit, placing his hands where Nicola’s were, one on it’s head and one on it’s bottom. He looks at it with bright eyes. Nicola has never seen his features so soft and loving. She imagines he looks at his niece like this.

Malcolm places a kiss on the rabbit’s forehead like Nicola had done.

“Hello, old friend” he whispers huskily, “You’re going to make someone very happy”


End file.
